Wednesday, October 22, 2014

I recently had an experience and it
showed how quickly a community of people can be built even if only
for one day.

My dad had to have cataract surgery and
it meant an extremely early day for all of us. We were at the
hospital by 6am which isn't normal for any of us. The first thing I
noticed that as people arrived to register everyone started
acknowledging everyone else. No one knew the next person in the
registration waiting area but everyone was friendly. After we
registered we said good bye to one couple and found out that they
were also going to be in the same area of the hospital as we were
going as the wife was also having cataract surgery.

Now this is where the community started
to build was when everyone started to arrive in the Eye Centre. Of
course sitting in this waiting room meant that everyone was doing to
be going through the same procedure and the support person was going
to have to be waiting around for their family member to be finished.
Most people again acknowledged each other and in some cases some
conversations were started.

Once I had my father checked in I was
to leave the area but stay close so that I was there to pick him up
when the procedure was finished. I of course had my mom and my
husband waiting for me downstairs so I went and sat with them for the
hour of waiting. Now this is where the community was great, as
everyone was waiting they acknowledged the next person even through
we didn't know each other. A smile, a wave or even a nod of the head
meant we were there for the next person.

The couple that we spoke to at
registration were the first one's that were finished and the lady
actually came over to talk to be before she headed home. It felt
very good seeing that our little community was a caring community.
She wanted my mom to know it wasn't a bad surgery and she told me
that she had a nice conversation with my dad while waiting for
surgery. This couple had the same surgeon as my dad so we will
probably see them a couple of times at the office for the check ups.

It wasn't long after this conversation
that I got the phone call letting me know that it was time for me to
go and pick up my dad. As I walked up I got the waves from others
waiting as if to say good bye for now. There were also the smiles to
say the waiting is over for you so my waiting must be over soon.

Yes the community may have only been
established for a few hours but it really shows that people when
facing the same issue can because friends. No we don't know each
others names or anything else but we were there for a common reason
and like most communities that is the reason for a community. That
community is gone now but it did leave a nice foot print.

Remember when you are faced with a
common issue a simple smile, wave or nod of a head can mean a lot to
the next person.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Now taking some time
for me has been a challenge as I am one of those people that always
makes sure that I am keeping everyone else happy. What I was
forgetting is that the only way to make others happy was to ensure
that I am happy first.

I am not saying that
you only think of yourself but what I am saying is you do need to
make sure that you set aside some time to do the things you like
doing or things for you. What I mean by this is the time to maybe
have a manicure or have a haircut. No these aren't big expensive
things but they are time for yourself and they can help in making you
feel better about things.

Setting aside a bit of
time for yourself can make a huge difference in how you deal with
others around you. If you continually try and make everyone else
happy and don't take time for yourself you will probably have
problems just focusing on all the tasks that you have on your plate.
The other thing that could happy is you would find yourself
frustrated a lot easier than normal. Yes, so that half hour or an
hour to yourself sometimes can really help you think clearer.

The other good point
about taking that time for yourself is you will feel better in
yourself as well. I know that just having a manicure can make such a
difference in my mood. I don't get one very often but when I do I
know I feel better about things after I have taken that time for me.
Of course, you aren't going to be able to take that time right in the
middle of some major work but sometimes at least knowing that you are
going to do something for yourself makes that job a little easier.

So yes make sure you
take some time for yourself because the people around you will also
benefit from it. You will feel better about yourself and it will
make the tasks ahead a little easier to deal with.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Have you noticed that
strollers seem to be getting bigger and bigger. I thought they would
be staying a smaller size because of apartments, condos and homes
being smaller now.

When I have noticed
this is more on public transit when people are getting on and trying to turn
to go down the mail aisle. The stroller is longer and wider than is
really necessary because the wheels seem to stick out the sides so
much now that they get in the way. The other thing I have noticed
with the stroller size is that people love hanging things off the
handles which also make the stroller wider. I understand that people
need to use strollers on public transit but it would be nice to have some
that don't take up the entire aisle. Strollers don't pay a fare but
they are the thing that takes the place of three, four or even five
people. The other thing people do is actually take the child out of
the stroller and let the child sit in a seat which means that is
another spot taken from a paying individual.

Now with strollers on
transit the biggest frustration that I have is someone that gets on a
bus with a fully loaded stroller and there is no child with them.
The stroller is actually being used to move the groceries or
sometimes laundry but these people still figure that should be given
the same consideration as if they have a child in the stroller. I'm
sorry but without a child in the stroller you are just taking up lots
of space and aren't entitled to a seat just because you are holding a
stroller. If I take a buggy on the bus I don't expect a seat so what
is the difference.

Yes stroller are
getting bigger and I think the people that are purchasing them need
to consider where they are going to be using the stroller. A
stroller of one size is great for a runner but that same stroller
isn't good for someone commuting each day on public transit.

Please remember when
you are using your stroller on transit, it is large and there are
others also wanting to get on so try and take up as little room as
possible.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Have you ever noticed how people handle
doors that need to be opened or are open. I had a lot of fun lately
watching people and how they handled going through various doors.
Some of the doors were into apartment buildings and others were into
restaurants and shopping malls.

The one door handling that I have to
say is my pet peeve is someone pressing the button to open the door
and then as soon as door starts to open they pull the door open
quickly, if you don't need assistance opening the door why did you
press the button and not just open the door in the first place. Now
another thing with the automatic door open button are the people that
hammer on the button thinking that the door will open quicker if they
do that. The door won't open any faster because it is made to open
slowly to ensure that the person needing the door opened doesn't get
hit by the door. I have seen people press the button thinking one
door will open and the door they are standing in the way of is the
door that ends up opening. The other thing about these doors is if
you see someone press the button to use the door don't barge through
the open door and block the other persons way.

Now here is something that I really
don't like and it is when I pull open a door, unless I step aside I'm not
opening it for you to barge through it. I was opening the door so
that I could go through it. I had this happen in an apartment
building and I actually told off the individual that was trying to
push between me and the door that I had just started to open. This
person had stood waiting for someone to open the door thinking that
the person was opening it for them.

The most interesting is when there are
two doors and one of them is propped open and you will notice that most people will aim for that door even if it means that they have to
get in other people's way. If there are two doors side by side
please try and use the right hand door. Basically use the doors the
same way you use the roads in Canada. The right side of the door way
is for you so open the right door. Yes, this is a challenge for some
of us that are left handed because the left door is a lot easier to
open but I still open the right door.

Have you ever watched people enter
doors where there are two separate doors, one to enter and one to
exit and the exit door has a do not enter sign on it. Watch and see
how many people will use that door as an entrance and wonder why they
are getting walked into by people leaving the store. These are the
people that get really upset when they get banged and figure that
they have the right of way.

So here are my tips:

If you need to use the automatic
door button, that is fine but don't hammer on it as it won't open
any faster.

Only walk through a door if it has
just been opened if the person doing the opening has stepped out of
he way or motioned you to go through the door.

Use the right hand door if there
are two doors.

Watch if there are separate enter
and exit doors because you will probably either get banged or walked
into if you use the wrong one.

Be considerate when going in and
out of places.

Yes, doors can be a challenge when
entering and exiting building but remember you aren't the only one
using the door and you don't know who is watching.

About Me

I am a technical writer, instructor and co-owner of a business. I have my opinions on life and see things maybe a little different. My opinions do not reflect the opinions of the company. If you enjoy my writing and would like some help with your company intranet or other documents please feel free to contact me. For writing and other parts of my life can be found at www.dlklife.ca